Bar Pontevecchio

Bar Pontevecchio was conveniently located just steps away from my vacation apartment while visiting Florence. Not so convenient was the fact that this place had employees moving at snails pace and a price that will make your wallet wince in pain. I can’t comment on the gelato here because luckily I didn’t get suckered into buying any. My travelers intuition told me this place was a tourist trap simply based on the location alone. The display of gelato in the case LOOKED so good, with many flavor and a beautiful design it truly looked like a work of art. However, lucky for me, I overheard others gawking about the price before I ordered and was able to quickly back out. Trust me when I say there’s seriously a gelateria on every single corner in Italy. Don’t waste your hard earned money at this one

Let’s preface this with letting you know that this was our 3^rd gelato in Florence, and 6^th total in Italy (before we were in Venice)… so I know my gelato. THIS PLACE IS A TOTAL TOURIST TRAP. Sure, the gelato is pretty good, but one person DOES NOT NEED the amount that they give you FOR 10 EURO. There is absolutely no signage suggesting prices and sure, it would have probably been good if we asked how much it was but as the running price for gelato is absolutely under 5, it didn’t cross my mind. We had even been at Eduardo earlier that day where it’s all ORGANIC AND VEGAN and two scoops with whipped cream was under 5.
Also, the staff were SO RUDE. They were impatient, disrespectful and absolutely the opposite of the majority of friendly Italians we had met. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT COME HERE AND GET TRAPPED INTO pretty good BUT OVERPRICED 10 EURO GELATO.

Even though many other reviews said this was a tourist trap (and maybe it is), I thought the gelato was good and the service was fast and employees were friendly.

Remember I said anyone giving a gelato place 1 star must be an abused child? Yeah, I guess that’s me. But that’s what you’d feel if you purchased a gelato here.
At the price of € 8.50 Euros or about $ 10 U.S. Dollars, that is quite unheard of. This was the price for just a medium two flavored gelato. Who charges this much? Yes, it’s on one of the oldest and iconic bridges of Florence but that’s outrageous.
The cream better be made of Cleopatras breast milk for them to charge that ridiculous price.
I would avoid at all costs and go to other gelaterias nearby.

Are you a tourist for the first time waking through Ponte Vecchio?
Are you hot and sweaty from the humid summer air in Italy?
Are you thinking of gelato while walking through Ponte Vecchio under the hot humid air of Florence?
If you said yes to any of these questions and happen to see Bar Pontevecchio, keep on walking! This spot is a total rip off. A whopping 8.50 € for a small mediocre gelato will make your wallet cry injustice.
Very touristy, not worth it.

Bar Pontevecchio
Wer in Florenz war, kam daran sicherlich nicht vorbei. Diese kleine Café-​Bar findet ihr «unter» dem Turm am südlichen Ende des Ponte Vecchio. Sitzt man hier, wähnt man sich am der Nabel der Welt zu sein. Es ist eng und laut und überlaufen. Um den unaufhörlichen Ansturm zu bewältigen sind nicht weniger als 8 Camerieri und Baristi im Einsatz. Zugegeben nicht jede/​r von ihnen bleibt da immer ganz entspannt. Ein junger Camiere konnte seine Verzweiflung nicht verbergen — er konnte einem leid tun. Der Service am Gast leidet darunter aber eigentlich nicht. Daumen hoch dafür –Respekt!
Die Gelati werden jedoch eher lieblos abgefertigt — statt angerichtet, komponiert, serviert oder was auch immer. TakeAway halt — aber leider selbst wenn man es sich draussen im Caffe gönnt. Da deückt der Turistenmagnetpreis dann doch etwas aufs Gemüt.
Sitzt man aber erst mal, kann man den einzigartigen unbezahlbaren Blick auf das emsige Treiben in der historischen Borgo San Jacopo bei einem herrlichen Espresso geniessen. Dieser kommt in zauberhaftem Pontevecchio Geschirr — absolut authentisch daher. Hätte es am liebsten gleich eingesteckt (-;
Insgesamt muss ich sagen, der Besuch hier ist Pflicht — und es lohnt wirklich sich etwas Zeit zu nehmen, sich mitten ins Gewühl zu setzen und diese Stimmung auf sich wirken zu lassen. Weil während andernorts die Leistungen unter weit geringerem Turi– und Traveler-​druck bereits regelrecht einbrechen, bleibt der Service hier (im Durchlauferhitzer !) wirklich richtig gut.
Primamissimo!

Avoid! Tourist trap who will give you much more than asked for and charge you dearly. Sad.

A nice little caffe a block pass the Ponte Vecchio, on your left side.
There is an outside sitting area where I decided to sit down, take a break and get some lunch.
I ordered some cold beer, slice of their mushroom pizza and a capuccino.
Pizza was great as everywhere else in Florence, and having a cold beer at 1:00pm in the middle of a summer was priceless.